


A Warden's Best Friend

by danceswithhamsters01



Series: Reddit Prompts [98]
Category: Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Betrayal, Blood, Dragon Age: Origins Quest - Captured!, Gen, Implied/Referenced Torture, POV Animal, POV First Person, Rescue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-06-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:29:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24636847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/danceswithhamsters01/pseuds/danceswithhamsters01
Summary: Inspired by a prompt from r/dragonage.Things just went horribly wrong during Sevarra Amell's attempt to rescue Queen Anora. A look at things from the point of view of her mabari, Fang.
Relationships: Female Amell/Zevran Arainai (Background)
Series: Reddit Prompts [98]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1153856
Kudos: 8





	A Warden's Best Friend

Mistress had not come back with the others. I could not smell her scent on any of them. A whine left my throat. She’d always come back to before. What I _could_ smell was the scent of a stranger… and the growing animosity the others had toward her. The smell of discontent and anger practically wafted off of Mistress’s mate. The way he moved made me think he was going to attack this new stranger.

“Eamon! I may have done a terrible thing!” the strange female said.

“What? What is it you might have done, exactly?” Mistress’s friend, the other Warden, asked.

“What in Andraste’s name has happened? Are you alright?” the elderly male human with the silver fur around his face added.

“The Warden has been captured,” the stranger answered.

“And this _may have_ been your fault. Maybe? Perhaps?” I could smell the shift from confusion to anger on Alistair.

Mistress’s other friend, the one who always gave me those tasty roots and plants that make my stomach feel better spoke, too. “Oh, but she leaves out the best part of this tale: The part where she threw us all at Loghain’s henchmen and ran.”

Mistress’s mate spoke up. “I’m still waiting for a reason not to slit her throat and toss her in the river. I haven’t heard it yet.”

The third member of the returning party, the knight they called Rory, said nothing but glared daggers at the stranger. I could smell blood on him, most of it his own. The way he moved plainly explained how badly injured he was.

I looked at each of them, but none of them bothered to look back. Their attention was too wrapped up in whatever it was they were talking about. I paced for a while before I found the elderly woman who was like Mistress and sat by her. I couldn’t hold back the whine in my throat. Master had always come back until that last fateful time: the time I couldn’t save him. Was history repeating itself? A soft warm hand rubbed my head between my ears.

“I know, boy. I’m worried, too,” Wynne said in a soft voice.

**

Mistress’s mate was at the door that led to the outside, one hand pressed against it. He was covered in the second skin he only wore when he expected there to be a fierce battle in the near future. Mistress had an odd fellow by the name of Wade create it especially for him. I’d been there when she’d given the strange crafter the pieces of dragon carcass.

“No, my friend. Stay here. It would be easier if I did this alone,” he said.

 _Bullshit,_ I barked. I don’t think he knew that I was using language my mother would’ve nipped me for uttering.

“You are hardly what I’d call stealthy, my furry friend. It would be much easier for me to slip in unnoticed if I were alone,” he said.

 _That’s what you think, pal!_ I barked at him. He didn’t seem to be quite as swift on the uptake when I spoke to him, unlike the people who were from this place.

“He’s a mabari, there’s no use arguing with him,” another voice said from behind us. “I suspect he’s every bit as determined to find her as we are.”

I wagged my tail. At least Alistair knew what I said when I spoke! Most of the time, anyway.

“We?” Mistress’s mate turned to regard the taller man. “No, no, Alistair. I need to do this alone. I have experience at this. I am a professional. You are not.”

“ _My friend_ has been captured. Maker only knows what Loghain’s got planned for her, but I’m pretty sure it’s not pleasant. I’m going to find her, one way or another. We can either work together or separately, but I **am** going.”

The elf sighed and folded his arms. “And the drooling beast?”

“He’s a mabari. This is Ferelden. Trust me, he’ll more useful than you think,” the human smirked. “Won’t you, Fang?”

I spun in a circle and barked. At least one of them knew what was what.

**

“State your business.”

“We are delivering this dog to your kennels,” Mistress’s mate answered. Both he and Alistair were in clothing workers usually wore. ‘Disguises,’ they were called.

Naturally, I was the brains of the operation. Thanks to my quick thinking, I got us all passed the first two doors. I know how people work. You could say I’m a people person, really. But even my skills have limits. I know when I lay eyes on a dog-hater. And that pretty sergeant guarding the door? She practically oozed ‘I hate dogs and I hate fun’ from her pores. Mistress wouldn’t like her, not one bit.

Giving credit where credit is due, the elf could be clever at times, too. He crept around the edge of the hall and up the ramp to where one of the big weapons was sitting unattended. He shot one of the statues that were shaped like a lady holding a bowl of fire. The ruckus drew all the humans in armor away from the door. The three of us hustled past the door and shut it behind us.

“The guards will know we have no business here. We can do away with these.” Zevran peeled off his disguise and threw it in a corner and pulled out his weapons. Alistair followed suit.

I stopped and sniffed the air. Many guards were just beyond the other door, the telltale smells of sweat and weapon oil giving them away. Also, a very familiar scent. _Wait…_ Tainted blood. I could smell it, some distance from here, but not too far. _Hang in there, we’re coming for you!!_

Not that they needed the warning, but I growled and raised my hackles while pointing at the door ahead of us. Time was of the essence, so we charged from man to man, taking the most direct route we could manage. I hated the taste of human blood but it was them or us, and Mistress needed us, the sooner the better. Grey Wardens’ blood smelled metallic with that slight hint of something unnatural, and it was growing stronger the closer we got. Alistair was unhurt, so I didn’t need to guess who it was coming from. I didn’t feel the least bit sorry for the amount of blood I shed by the time we got to the kennel they were keeping her in.

Zevran slipped the key into the lock and pushed open the door. “Ah, my dear Warden, did you--” The words died in his throat as he rushed to the shivering creature curled up in the pile of bloodied rags. He sank to his knees and shook her shoulder. The smell of anguish rolled off him in waves.

“Amora? Amora, wake up!” he kept shaking her shoulders until her eyes opened by a tiny fraction.

Alistair swore and was digging in his bag for something. Hopefully, it was medicine. I nudged one of her hands and couldn’t hold back the whine in my throat. What happened to her claws? There were only bloody patches where they used to be. My gut was full of dread as I inspected her feet. Those claws were missing, too. We found that she was too weak to walk, much less form a coherent sentence when we tried to get her upright. Alistair scooped her up. Her mate and I made certain that there were no surviving witnesses as we made our escape.

**

I watched as that yellow-haired human woman that none of my friends liked tried to get close to the door I was guarding. My mistress was in the room behind that door. Wynne and Mistress’s golden-eyed friend were taking shifts watching over her as she recuperated. I let out a warning growl as the intruder tried to put her hand on the door.

“Shoo, you mangy creature. You will not address your Queen in such a manner!”

 _You’re not MY queen, you creep._ I growled again, hackles raised.

The door opened. Mistress’s golden-eyed friend stood in the doorway. “It would be most unwise to provoke the hound. Mabari are quite protective of their handlers. The Warden is in no condition to entertain visitors at present.”

“I am the queen! I must speak to her at once!”

Morrigan looked unimpressed. “She is not currently _capable_ of speaking, no thanks to you. Off with you now.”

The intruder looked ready to push past Morrigan, but I got between them and ‘encouraged’ the yellow-haired one to back up. The golden-eyed woman smelled of annoyance with heavy undertones of anger. “The Warden shall be the one to decide when you will speak with her. _IF_ she chooses to speak with you at all. I suggest you leave her to heal in peace for now.”

Morrigan pushed the door shut in the intruder’s face, leaving her blinking in disbelief for a couple of heartbeats. I gave her a low growl to ‘encourage’ her away from my Mistress’s room. She scowled at me, turned on her heel, and huffed off in the direction of the Arl’s study. _Good. Go annoy him for a while._ I did the only thing I could do and resumed my watch. Hopefully, Mistress would walk out of that room in a day or two.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry, Anora fans. This was just how things worked out between her and this particular Grey Warden.


End file.
